TOO QUICK

Michael woke with a raging headache. He immediately tried to use ‘Instant Analyzation’ to get as much information as he could but was rewarded with a second headache. It felt like the second took a sledgehammer and was pounding the first to submission. Michael focused on his body and noticed a few things beside the headache. For one, he was tied up and seated on a chair. Second there was a presence around him but when Michael tried to check the Mana of the person he couldn’t concentrate enough to do so. So he focused on the ropes around his hands. He felt the course rope and damage it was doing to his skin. It was minute, especially when compared to the headaches and past injuries but it was better than nothing. Michael focused on only the rope burn and felt much better as he ignored the headaches.

“Hes awake. Yes. N- Yes. Of course. When do you wan-. Yes sir.”

Michael barely heard the presence speak. Michael was incredibly weak and confused but he kept his mind focused. He knew the worse thing to do was to panic. He was incredibly close to it through. As a kid he never went through much hardship. Just hard training and learning. Even the Wolves he killed were dealt with rather quickly so Michael never had a life threatening event. Till now.

A door creaked open behind Michael. At the back of his mind, past the headache he was thinking that the door hinges really needed to be oiled. As a counterargument the headache assaulted his loose concentration which made him focus harder. He heard a sigh in front of his face.

“What did you do to the boy? He was supposed to be unharmed. This does not look unharmed...”

Michael’s head was still bowed since he couldn’t find the strength to raise it. Probably because of this he saw the man’s shoes. Actually they were closer to sandals but the design was a little...bright? Bright blue and green actually. Michael raised his eyes a bit more and saw really bright pink. A dress? Well on a man it would be more respectful to say a robe…

Michael’s headache again brought him back to reality.

“...not that damaged. I had to knock him out before the Series representatives rushed us. I have never seen such behaviour before. You would have thought someone showed off a million gold coins in front of them and then told them to ‘catch him’. Some idiot was just shouting ‘Penguins! Penguins!’ and that made me shiver a bit. Something to worship perhaps? We already have enough Deities around and…”

The presence just rambled on and on in its deep voice while the man started rummaging. Michael strained his eyes upwards and saw the man reach into his belt and pull out a vial. The liquid in it was golden in colour and it-

Michael’s head was jerked to the ceiling and the vial was tipped into his open mouth. Cool liquid flowed into his mouth and in one large swallow he consumed the concoction. ‘It couldn’t be any worse than now.’

Michael’s eyes widened as his vision cleared. He noticed his health, mana, and stamina bars at the top were rather low and he thought that was the reason for his headache. To his astonishment all three recovered in 3 seconds flat. Michael was also still focused on his wrists so he felt the skin there heal. His headaches disappeared as well and Michael felt as good as new.

When his head was released, Michael immediately used ‘Instant Analyzation’. Michael saw a young man in front him dressed in bright pink. Large slashes of red and yellow crossed the middle of the robe. He also had a necklace which had a purple...bone? A purple bone, Michael thought it was a thigh bone, was attached to the necklace and was hanging down the front of the man’s robes. His ‘Instant Analyzation’ also noted a smiley face near the end of the bone.

The man himself was impressive. Not physically though. Just in terms of looks. Blonde hair, purple eyes and the widest grin Michael had ever seen. Oh you think blonde hair is normal? How about when it started to glow? And purple eyes that glowed too. Even the grin revealed shining white teeth. Everything about the man screamed ‘Eccentric’. He didn’t look evil but…

Michael turned his focus onto the presence. Now that would be something creepy to look at. If the shape didn’t cause confusion first. Smokey and unclear the presence was in the shape of one of the monkeys Michael read about. Not the dangerous Lupins in the Monster Encyclopedia but the weaker versions that went from tree to tree and ate Bananas. The shape also wore a hat that was not made of smoke. It leant some substantiality to the presence.

Michael finished his analysis in 20 seconds crammed into 4. He noted that his mana barely decreased and judged that the potion was still in effect. Michael then remembered his connection. Michael focused on the infomation boxes in order to see…

You have been knocked out

‘Useless.’

You have been been drugged. Mana has decreased to the lowest levels.

No more mana for connection to ‘Silven Plant’. Because of the composition of the plant the plant has started to absorb your stamina.

No more stamina for connection to ‘Silven Plant’. Because of the composition of the plant the plant has started to absorb your health.

Health has reached dangerous levels. Willpower has activated. 30% chance of waking you from your state.

Willpower has successfully revived you.

You have gained +5 to Willpower.

You have gained +1 to Concentration.

You have drunk ‘Tonic of the Gods’.[p=left]All status debuffs are cured.

Health, Mana, and Stamina regeneration recovers at 10x speed for the next hour.

All stats doubled for the next hour.

All skills temporarily gain +2 to skill levels for the next hour.[/p]

Michael’s eyes popped when he read the last box. ‘Tonic of the Gods’? What the heck is with this potion. And using it on a kid like him?

Michael wearily looked at the man. The grin was still there. ‘Maybe its a mask?’ Then the man spoke and broke the wish of a mask.

“Well boy, I am Harold olr Opinio. Stands for ‘Harold of many Opinions’. Anyways I was instructed by your father, an old friend of mine, to train you. I’m guessing you are wondering in what? Why Magic my boy. Mages are quite rare these days and even average ones are walking wonders. I’m told you’re more of a warrior type. No problem, no problem we can implement that with Magic. No one ever said a Mage can only throw around spells. Well some do say so but we are going to do otherwise.”

The man, Harold, crammed all that information into just 4 seconds. Michael had to actually activate ‘Instant Analyzation’ at 3:1 speed in order to capture any of it.

“Ca-can you slow down. I barely got any of that. And what kind of Mage is both good at the sword and magic?”

Harold gave a start. He purposefully spoke that fast since he wanted to surprise the boy but instead the boy actually heard it all. ‘What a shocking development...thank you Aaron for this interesting specimen.’ Harold’s accompanying grin was very suspicious.

“You will be a generic warrior my boy. I was told you can use the sword and dagger? Good. Focus on those and leave the magic to me. You will be granted a sub-class of magic if you do well. Its rare but possible. Now first, show your status and skills to me. Hurry hurry we don’t have all day.”

While slower than before Harold was still speaking at a rushed pace. Michael was glad he didn’t have to turn into a weird class that needed to be hidden but at the same time he was disappointed he wouldn’t be some grand mage. Still…

“Show all to Harold olr Opinio.”

Michael watched as Harold examined the space in front of him. He couldn’t believe it at first, but the man’s grin got larger.

“Green Magic huh? Your mother’s work no doubt. Still useful in its own way. Titles as well, at such a young age. Your stats are incredible. I fear there is no kid with the same status. Instant Analyzation huh? Takes a lot of mana but it has incredible uses. Everything else is interestingly normal. Your Stealth is stuck at Beginner level 9, 99%? We can fix that. Just need you to do something big...”

Michael knew ranking up a skill required a rather large catalyst. Alchemy had him make a mana potion while still a Beginner Rank. It was rather easy since he was taught it but it would probably have been harder for a person that self taught themselves. Green Magic was a little harder. When it reached Beginner level 9, 99%, Michael had to speed grow a single plant using all of his mana. He was forced to let go of the ‘Silven Plant’ for a bit before force growing a mint plant. The result was a 5 foot long mint leaf and Intermediate in Green Magic.

“Your other skills are quite developed quite ordinarily. Thank Janira for her small mercies, I hoped you only had a few abnormal skills and not a whole array of them. Well we should be going back to your house. It has been quite a hectic few hours and hopefully all this hype about you had died down.”

‘Only a few hours...’

Michael’s Health, Mana, and Stamina was almost all gone just from a few hours of being knocked out and drugged. Michael contemplated the risks of the connection he had.

“Ummm was the drug that took all my mana common? I have never heard of a potion or poison doing such a thing.”

“Its a poison boy and it costs around 1300 gold per vial. Too much to be common so no worries about that. Now get up and lets go. Ah right, your bonds. Here we go. Now follow!”

Michael’s hand were finally free and he managed to get a good look of the room. No windows were there so he thought it was a deeper office room of a building. The room was also incredibly shabby so Michael assumed it was a temporary hiding place and followed Harold. The presence followed behind.

When Michael and the presence was out of the room a bright flash surrounded him. Michael opened his eyes and found himself staring at the front entrance of his house. Then he heard some shouts behind him.

“THERE HE IS GET HIM! HE’S GOD RANK POTENTIAL.”

“NO HE’S GONNA JOIN US!!!”

“NO, THE GREAT LORD PENGUIN WANTS HIM AS SACRIFICE. MORTALS WILL BOW BEFORE HIS WILL. Reward is popcorn.”

Seriously was Michael the only one that noted the penguin title again? Well the presence also said it but no one else batted an eye in that direction.

The trio ran to the doors of Michael’s house, Harold laughing like a mad man at the situation. Before they reached it, the doors swung open and Michael’s father rushed out to herd them in. Then he planted himself at the front door and roared.

“STAY THE HECK BACK!!”

The roar blasted everyone back. This did barely any damage but it did shock the crowd senseless. Then Aaron ran back into his house and locked the door.

“Crap. The Penguin Lord will not be pleased…”

***

“Where did you take my dear Michael mister olr Opinio!?!?”

Michael’s mother was standing before the grinning man with her hand at her hips and her glare pointed at him. Michael noticed that even though Harold was grinning, he was also sweating like crazy. ‘Ah, the man knows the fury of mother...’

“My sweet, don’t worry. He was not harmed...greatly. In fact, me and my compatriot saved your son from the trappings of that crowd outside. Those scoundrels would have torn your boy apart just to have him join them. But don’t worry I shall teach your boy everything he needs to know!”

Harold said all this with quite a bit of flare but Michael’s mother did not change her stance. In fact she shifted from anger to rage. Harold seemed to be very capable of bringing out the beast.

“You will do no such thing! Me and my husband have already asked several friends to oversee various parts of his education. You are a mage, you will ONLY teach him magic. And don’t you dare twist my magic around to fit your needs. GOT IT?”

The last part came out as a roar that almost reached the level of Michael’s father’s. Harold’s grin finally disappeared and he crouched under the verbal assault.

‘Weakness found.’

Michael grinned. Until he remembered the part about having tutors.

“Wait, who are my new teachers?”

Michael shivered when all 3 adults and a smokey monkey turned grins on him.

***

“Hello boy. My name is Cider and I will be teaching you how to Blacksmith for the next 10 years. You should know my work. I made that curved blade you like so very much. One of my best and earliest work. I have several other Curved blades you can take a look at later. It should be interesting to see how you use ‘em.”

Cider was a remarkably skinny man for a Blacksmith. But when Michael shook hands with him he was shocked at the strength. Michael thought the man just added stats to strength like crazy.

Cider had no hair at all on his head. The story was told that an accident happened when he was younger, that his head was somehow covered in oil then promptly set alight. Luckily they managed to put it out with a large cloth and a Priest was very close. He healed his skin but the hair was permanently burned off.

Cider was also dressed in a rather odd one piece. It wasn’t the regular Blacksmith overalls but more like a slick skin tight suit that looked almost oily black in the light. It seemed Harold made it and enchanted it with a strong Fire-resistance. Water is absorbed by it which increased the fire-resistance. Perfect for a Blacksmith even if it looks very out of place.

“Since you did not take the Craft Series route you cannot be automatically supplied with the Handicrafts skill. No worries you can get it as you go along. For now we shall work on getting the proper metals out of rocks. Your parents have already installed a smith’s workplace in the house. Let us go there...do you know the way?”

Remember when Michael said the house was rather large? Well he was understating the size. The house had the usual rooms for specific work like Alchemy, training, cooking, sleeping, and the like but it also had a few dozen empty rooms. Michael’s mother’s magic also could warp a room to suit the needs so a smithy inside the house wasn’t strange. The ceiling even had a vent for the excess smoke to escape. The walls and floor of the room was reinforced with flame resistance magic made by Harold and Michael’s mother.

“Perfect. Ok first I shall teach you the ‘Identification’ skill. I had the book somewhere...There! Now just learn the skill from this book. Go ahead, its a common skill.”

Michael was actually trying to figure out where the book came from since the man was wearing a skintight suit. He gave up when he didn’t find any pockets and placed a hand on the book.

“Learn.”

You have learned the skill ‘Identification’. Due to the similarities between this skill and ‘Instant Analyzation’ the two skills have merged to form ‘Instant Analysis and Identification’. ‘Instant Analysis and Identification’ has leveled up. ‘Instant Analysis and Identification’ has reached the Intermediate ranking. ‘Instant Analysis and Identification’ mana costs have halved.

You have gained +5 Intelligence.

Instant Analysis and Identification. Intermediate level 1 (3%). Active and Passive skill[p=left]A combination of two different yet similar skills.

For the active part, it allows for analysis of the situation, analysis of monsters and their actions, and analysis of weapons in a fraction of the time. Due to experimentation you have found the limits of the skill.

Mana costs have decreased due to Intermediate ranking.

Requires a vocal command to use.

Depending on how quickly you wish to cram the information in, more mana is needed to do so.

At a rate of 2:1 it takes up 5 mana per compressed second. For example, 50 seconds compressed into 25 seconds takes up 250 mana.

At a rate of 3:1 it takes up 10 mana per compressed second. For example, 25 seconds compressed into 8.3 seconds takes up 250 mana.

For the Passive part, any item touched by you is analyzed and then identified to the limits of the skill.

Does not require a vocal command to use.

Does not consume Mana or Stamina.

Gives half the experience the ‘Identification’ skill would usually get.[/p]

‘Ohhhh it got an upgrade,’

“Come on boy. Get to identifying. Here, identify this rock and tell me the properties.”

Michael was given a large rock by Cider.

Iron Ore[p=left]A rock with a low percentage of Iron.

1.7% of the rock is made of Iron. About 1.4 kilograms.

At your current skills, 1.3% chance of a pure purification of the Iron.[/p]

Michael repeated what he saw and Cider was gaping in astonishment.

“I barely understood all that but I can see that you get quite a bit of information from the skill...alright well you now know that these ores do not contain much metal in them. It needs to be melted down and…”

Michael listened carefully and worked with Cider for the rest of the day. After melting down several types of ores and memorizing their characteristics Michael gained the following skills.

Smelting. Beginner level 1. (43%) Passive skill.[p=left]The process of extracting metals from their corresponding ore. The skill requires an understanding of heat and a need for patience.

The purity of the metal gained is 2% better for every ‘Smelting’ skill level.

The purity of the metal gained is 1% better for every ‘Blacksmith’ skill level.[/p]

Handicrafts. Beginner level 1. (13%) Passive skill.[p=left]A generic crafting skill, this skill affects all types of crafting.

All crafting skills will give a bonus 1% increase in end product quality for every level in ‘Handicrafts’.

Deft use of hands will increase damage using weapons by 5% per ‘Handicrafts’ level.

Strengthening of hands will increase hand-to-hand damage by 10% per ‘Handicrafts’ level.[/p]

The ‘Handicrafts’ skill was a good reward by the end. Michael could see the rewards for leveling this skill and other crafting skills.

Michael went to sleep satisfied at his progress. He couldn’t wait to meet his next teacher tomorrow. He secretly hoped it would be a female. Michael drifted of to dreams of a mature female teacher...

***

“Hi Michael! Its me again. Cider, remember? No? Do you have bad memory or something? Well no matter. I am your Tailoring and Woodworking teacher as well. What? How can I do so? Well I am a sort of jack-of-all-trades master of Crafting skills. I have Expert ranking in Tailoring, Woodworking, Sculpting, Painting, and Architecture. I also have Master ranking in Blacksmithing and Mining so I have all the requirements to teach you. Ah you don’t have to tear up in joy. I’ll be your teacher for the next 10 years after all. Hmm? Yea all my clothes are enchanted based on my craft.”

Michael couldn’t believe his bad luck. To have a hairless skinny man that like to wear skin tight clothing - its brown and rough today, but still skin tight - as his teacher for the next 10 years was a little too much for him.

So the unfortunate Michael went through the next few weeks just acquiring skills under the watchful and creepy eyes of Cider. Michael’s personal title for him was ‘curse of all male students of crafting’.

And as for the skills…

Tailoring. Beginner level 1. (9%) Passive skill.[p=left]Craft skill that involves stitching various furs and pieces of leather to create clothes. An expert Tailor can take apart the materials and construct a unique piece of clothing with enhanced stats and abilities.

Clothes made are 5% more aesthetically appealing.

Clothes made last 3% longer.

Can only used tier 5 materials and lower.[/p]

Woodworking. Beginner level 1. (43%) Passive skill.[p=left]Craft skill that has ties to Sculpting. Can create pieces of art or even weapons from wood. Requires a delicate eye for details.

Sculptures made are 5% more detailed per ‘Woodworking’ level.

Weapons made are 3% more durable and deal 2% more damage per ‘Woodworking’ level.[/p]

“How come my wooden sword has such a low damage when you have such a high level of ‘Woodworking’?”

“Who the heck said I made the wooden sword? I just made the original weapon and the core of the wooden one. Hence the high durability and low weight. Now on to the next skill!”

Sculpting. Beginner level 3. (39%) Passive skill.[p=left]A crafting skill that is looked down upon, this skill creates works of art that leaves a lasting image in a person’s mind. Very difficult to master. A master is able to create pieces of any size that has nearly no difference from the original.

Sculptures are 3% more detailed per ‘Sculpting’ level.

Sculptures are 10% more durable per ‘Sculpting’ level.

Can only make fine pieces at this level.[/p]

Michael’s Concentration and skills made him quite proficient at sculpting. Good as a hobby if nothing else.

Painting. Beginner level 1. (87%) Passive skill.[p=left]Drawing seems simple but requires a feel of the emotion of events that is then transferred through the brush. A master of painting can move a person to tears or make them laugh just by having them view his/her works.

Paintings are 5% more delicate per ‘Painting’ level.

You gain a understanding of the different shades of colour. 10% increase in noticing the slight differences between shades.

Can only make fine pieces at this level.[/p]

Blacksmith. Beginner level 1. (22%) Passive skill.[p=left]Creation of weapons or armor. A craft that requires great strength, vitality and will. A true master can bring out the hidden properties of lower tiered metals and display them to the world.

Quality of metals will influence end result of creation.

Can repair weapons and armor to a degree. There will be some loss in Durability.

Can sharpen weapons making them deal 3% more damage for the first strike.

Can wax, oil, and repair armor making it have a temporary 5% increase in defense.

Weapon creations are 2% more durable and 4% stronger for every ‘Blacksmith’ level.

Armor creations are 5% more durable and have 3% higher defense for every ‘Blacksmith’ level.[/p]

Michael was happy when the week ended and he finally got the skills. He could privately work on each without the need to see Cider…

After his skill acquirement he was told his next new teacher would appear tomorrow. And that it would be a she...on a side note he would also start working with Harold...Michael had conflicting thoughts about the next day...

Back to the epic 'Changing Day'

Onward to a dull future.

[/hr]

I needed to post Chapter 8.5 here. The number of views on it was very low and it does have a specific point that needs to be read.

Chapter 8.5

HOWS THE REAL WORLD DOING?

The self named John Doe was relaxing in a recliner. The Recliner had auto message properties and heating/cooling options. It also had a built in foot rest. The Recliner also housed the AI Jane Roe - named by John Doe of course.

John was getting constant tabs from the AI about Gaia. At 20x speed the game had progressed 10 years in just 6 months since its starting. John was happy about that but he was starting to wonder about the NPC files he personally created. They were based off various previous scenarios he created and each file had a distinct personality. Based on tests, the files also had an effect on the area around them. To this end, John decided each file will not be created in the same town so as to minimize the impact. Still…

“Jane, which towns’ have veered off their intended schedules? List the problems and it’s contributions to the town as well. Also compare the list to the ‘Hero’ npcs to find any commonalities. I want to know what affect these files have had.”

-Yes sir. 17 towns have veered off their intended schedules. 12 have positive changes while the other 4 towns have been destroyed. 1 town has barely a change. Of these towns, 5 include files from the ‘Hero’ list. The other 12 towns have developed groups of people that exceed predictions. All towns have also found out how to create ‘Guilds’ ahead of schedule. The 12 largest and most active guilds are from these 12 towns.

The 5 other towns include members of the ‘Hero’ list. Of the 5, 4 of the towns were completely destroyed by the doings of their ‘Heroes’. Those ‘Heroes’ have been erased as per the instructions set 6 months ago. The last town had only a 2% change in schedule. The ‘Hero’ there has stayed relatively quiet and most of the city does not suspect any difference from him.”

“Hmmm, which town is that? The one with the hiding ‘Hero’?”

John was a little saddened that 4 towns were already destroyed but he had already made countermeasures to minimize the damages earlier. Still only 1 ‘Hero’ that didn’t negatively change a town was way below his expectations. These were people that became Champions of Gods from the other scenarios. Oh well, lets check out this kid.

“The neutral city of Bellen. The ‘Hero’ is named Michael. Stats and Skills shall be displayed.”

John would have done a spit take if he had any liquids in his mouth. The kid’s stats were incredibly high for a child of his age. Skills were also a little bizarre and John attributed it to his upbringing. John’s main confusion was how the kid hid all this. ‘Stealth’ can only do so much…

“Jane, watch this kid from now on. He will be a good surprise for the players coming in 6 months…”

“Yes sir.”

Jane Roe, or the Goddess Janira since she hated the original name she was given, was glad the creator didn’t order for the immediate destruction of Michael. He was basically her first personal creation and she remembered his cute submission during his creation. Janira seemed to have some S qualities…

[/hr]

After the examination of ‘Gaia’, John decided to troll the rest of his company. The company had agreed on a ‘need to know’ policy where no one but the company needed to know anything about the game.

So John went on the internet and posted various information about the game.

4 towns have already been destroyed because of the NPC system

The towns can be attacked by monsters and sabotaged in various ways.

NPCs and players have different stat distributions.

NPCs basically go through a 20 year tutorial.

All NPCs are much stronger than new players.

You can marry an NPC.

The last part was made as a joke but the reactions didn’t show it. Loners and long-time single people reacted positively to the news of an NPC marriage while everyone else had already stopped caring about the eccentricities of gamers. John decided to actually allow NPC-Player marriage just to see how it all turns out.

[/hr]

Again, really bad at writing about reality.

Don’t get your hopes up!! Just cause its possible for an NPC-player relationship, doesn’t mean I will do it. Consider this my version of a troll.

NPC x Player relationships is one of the big points in later chapters. Needs to be properly read so I moved it to chapter 8.

Still this leaves me the option of doing so.

Alright going to sleep. I need to clean the house tomorrow so chances are there won't be chapters. Unless I clean quickly...hrm...a new concept...